As you may or may not know of the practice of Ayurveda, which hails from India, it is a view on health and well being that takes the body, soul and mind all in to equal account and believes that all illness and health issues can be defeated with the right combination of foods, lifestyle and herbs. In this practice there are three doshas or categories of body characteristics. These include the doshas of pitta, vata and kapha.

Ayurvedic Treatments for Insomnia Help Sleep

It is thought that by using a few different Ayurveda treatments for insomnia that this condition can be mitigated or completely eliminated. As with anything, you should consult with a doctor prior to changing any of your habits or diet to assure that you have ample guidance and this would include trying the Ayuredic treatment for insomnia.

Insomnia is one of the most far reaching issues that faces a huge percentage of the world. It is the inability to get to sleep or to stay asleep throughout the night in a recurring manner. When one suffers from insomnia they will experience fatigue, confusion, irritability and other symptoms which makes living a normal life difficult. In Ayurveda, the belief is to treat the symptoms and try to also get to the root cause or underlying reason for the problem. Therefore, it is treated with a variety of different methods depending on the severity of the case and the particular patient.

The first treatments to look at when you discuss Ayurveda and insomnia has to be the herbs that they recommend. Ayurveda uses herbs in the treatment of just about everything and insomnia is no different. In the Ayurvedic treatment for insomnia in particular, there are six herbs that are recommended. The first is aniseed, an herb that tends to relax the nervous system to enable sleep. Additionally, another herb that relaxes the nervous system is celery. Indian sorrel has leaves. These leaves emit a juice that induces sleep which is why it is often used in tea to help one sleep. Nutmeg is very successful with calming children and can be mixed with milk and other liquids. Rauwolfia is a herb that tends to have sedative properties and is also very effective in insomnia. The last herb is Valerian which is almost strong enough to have a narcotic effect but with none of the addictive properties.

Each of these herbs affects different people differently so it would probably be necessary to try them to see how effective they are for a particular ailment in a particular person. It is recommended that the milder herbs be attempted first with a progression to the more powerful Ayurvedic herbs as listed above.

Another set of remedies include the medicines that doctors who practice Ayurveda will prescribe if the herbs for insomnia do not work. These drugs include: Brahmi, Vachaa, Jayphal, Ashwagandha, Jatamansi, Khurasaniova and Sarpagandha. Each of these have different qualities and you should talk with your doctor about what the pros and cons are prior to taking any of these.

Another remedy that is used in the Ayurvedic treatment of insomnia is body massage. In this kind of massage a light touch is used over the body and it is given with the medicinal oil of Mahamash. And perhaps the last Ayurvedic remedy for insomnia that is used is the practice of Shirodhara. This is a weekly treatment where the patient sits in a reclined position and oil (or milk) is dripped on the forehead of the patient for anywhere between ten to twenty minutes. This is believed to cause the body to relax.

These are the most common treatments for insomnia as practiced in Ayurveda. As you should know you should not try any new medical process or treatment without consulting with a physician first.